Asteroids Visited by Spacecraft

Only a few near-Earth objects would fit NASA's proposed guidelines for a manned mission to an asteroid.

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New Image of Asteroid 2005 YU55

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

This radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was obtained on Nov. 7, 2011, at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC), when the space rock was at 3.6 lunar distances,…Read More »

which is about 860,000 miles, or 1.38 million kilometers, from Earth. Less «

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Asteroid Jiggles Like a Jar of Mixed Nuts

Credit: Univ Tokyo/JAXA

Image of the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa. The boulder-free areas appear relatively smooth and are filled with small, uniformly sized particles.

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Peek at Huge Asteroid Provides More Questions Than Answers

Credit: ESA

The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft took this image of the asteroid Lutetia during a flyby on July 10, 2010.

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See You Soon, Apophis Asteroid

Credit: UH/IA

The asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004. It will fly within 18,300 miles of Earth on April 13, 2029, but poses little risk of impact.

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Possible Asteroid Particles Found in Returned Space Probe

Credit: JAXA

Scientists have found small particles inside the sample container of the Japanese asteroid probe Hayabusa, though it remains to be seen if they are asteroid…Read More »

bits or contamination from Earth. Here, particles are visible in re-entry capsule's sample container in a photo taken through the window of JAXA's sealed curation facility on June 28, 2010. Full Story. Less «

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Mysterious Asteroid Unmasked By Space Probe Flyby

Credit: ESA

This photo of the asteroid Lutetia is one of the closest views ever of the asteroid. It was taken from a distance of about 80,000 km during a July 10,…Read More »

Water Ice Discovered on Asteroid for First Time

An illustration of the asteroid 24 Themis along with two small fragments that orbit with it. One of the small fragments is inert (as most asteroids are)…Read More »

and the other has a comet-like tail, produced by the sublimation of water ice from its surface. Scientists announced the first discovery of water ice on 24 Themis. Full Story. Less «

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NASA Sky-Mapping Spacecraft Spots First New Asteroid

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

The red dot at the center of this image is the first near-Earth asteroid discovered by NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The asteroid…Read More »

appears redder than the rest of the background stars because it is cooler and emits most of its light at longer infrared wavelengths. In visible light, this space rock is very faint and difficult to see. Less «

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Weird Object Zooming by Earth Wednesday is Likely an Asteroid

Credit: Ernesto Guido/Giovanni Sostero/Remanzacco Observatory.

This image of the small asteroid 2010 AL30 was taken in Jan. 11, 2010, when the space rock was discovered, by astronomers at the Skylive-Grove Creek Observatory…Read More »